


Oh My God, Do I Try

by Ahelpfulpeach



Series: She-Ra Canon Universe Stories [10]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, POV Catra (She-Ra), Post-Canon, basically just a lot of introspective Catra as she tries to do the friend thing, kinda angst, some background couples but Catra is not great at noticing these things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24347614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahelpfulpeach/pseuds/Ahelpfulpeach
Summary: Despite everything, Catra is making friends and she is not at all sure she's comfortable with that.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: She-Ra Canon Universe Stories [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763977
Comments: 37
Kudos: 495





	Oh My God, Do I Try

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to do a fic from Catra's kinda POV, and also have a deep desire for the princess squad to be close and keep hanging out even after everything when they have to go back to their kingdoms and actually like, rule and shit. So this is born of those desires. And I really didn't know what to title it so have a meme.
> 
> For anyone keeping track of the timeline of this series, this one takes place about four months post finale.

“Alright, one last deep breath when you’re ready, and we’ll be done for today.”

Catra slowly let out the breath she’d been holding in, feeling her body relax. Some of that tension came back, however, when she opened her eyes to find Perfuma smiling at her across the mat.

“Great! You’re really making good progress, Catra.” Perfuma practically glowed with… what, pride? Catra shifted, eyes darting away, looking for Melog. They remained right where they’d perched at the beginning of the session, watching her with gentle eyes, ears twitching as they yawned. Feeling their calm wash over her, Catra dragged her gaze back to Perfuma.

“Yeah, uh. Thanks,” she mumbled. She ran a hand through her hair, unsure if she should just go or..

“No problem!” Perfuma said brightly, rising to her feet, “I’ll see you later this evening!”

Catra nodded mutely, only letting out a groan once Perfuma was out of earshot. Huh, she really was getting better at this friend shit. Or at least the not offending people shit.

Scorpia had invited everyone to visit the newly renovated Fright Zone. Or whatever she called it now. It was nothing fancy, not like the ball, just a night of chatting and games and food with the other princesses. And Bow. And her now too. With things finally calming down, major construction wrapping up in the different kingdoms, the princesses had time to hang out again, only this time without the constant threat of death or assimilation hanging over their heads.

Catra pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Despite everything, she could understand the desire for something relaxing and normal. Well, normal for them anyway. All this friend stuff was overwhelming already, and now they wanted to do these “get-togethers” or whatever like, once a week or something. Itwas enough for her to deal with Perfuma a few times a week, and Bow and Glimmer every day. But this was going to break her, she was sure.

A soft, wordless meow from Melog pulled Catra from her thoughts. Their head pressed lightly into her back, nudging.

“Right, yeah. Let’s go, I guess.”

\----

As Catra walked back towards Adora’s room, she nearly crashed into someone rounding a corner. Glancing up, she froze. Micah. Shit.

“Oh shi- Uh. Sorry.” She immediately stepped back and out of the way, ears pinned, tail swishing.

Micah blinked a couple times, surprised, then laughed a little.

“Don’t worry about it, I should apologize. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he held up an open book somewhat sheepishly. Catra glanced at it briefly, using the moment to scan his face and body. As far as she could tell, he seemed genuine, another awkward laugh escaping him.

She scooted to the side, giving him a clear path to move on past her, “’s fine,” she mumbled, hoping to just move on.

Micah raised an eyebrow, opened his mouth, and Catra tensed further. That he noticed, or maybe it was Melog’s bristling that caught his eye. Either way, he adjusted his expression to a sort of sad smile, nodded to her, and continued on his way to wherever he was going. Catra let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and practically ran the rest of the way to Adora’s room.

When she finally got there, Catra could hear Adora’s voice ringing through the door. Strategy talk, something about alliances to take down tougher opponents. Opening the door, things clicked into place.

In front of Adora was a large table, absolutely covered in papers and diagrams of… board games. Adora, back to the door, gestured to a collection of colorful game pieces forcefully enough to knock a few off the table. Beyond her, Bow and Glimmer were, well, listening might be a stretch. But they seemed to be humoring her. It was that moment that Bow noticed her arrival.

“Catra! Hey we were waiting for you.” He seemed almost relieved to see her, though Catra guessed it had more to do with how his outburst stopped Adora’s ranting than his actual enthusiasm to see her. Like, sure. She’d kind of gotten used to him and Glimmer but it still felt weird, being part of a group. But they seemed to be a package deal with Adora now, and her familiar scent had brushed off on them. In that way, they felt more safe to be around. Maybe even enjoyable at times.

Adora immediately turned to smile at Catra, her eyes soft and too warm. She took a second to look Catra over, eyes flicking to Melog briefly. They sauntered right into the room, brushing against Adora on their way to a tall wardrobe they decided would make the perfect perch.

Despite her companion’s nonchalance, Catra couldn’t help the little twist in her gut as Adora’s intensely blue gaze seemed to strip her to nothing. Not even in the fun way. She always did this, after these sessions with Perfuma, knowing how uncomfortable they sometimes made her. And it wasn’t like Catra didn’t appreciate the concern. Worry was just something Adora did, it was a part of her. She wouldn’t love her like she did if she truly hated the worrying. But _Gods_ it was unnerving the way Adora seemed to be able to read her mind sometimes. Being seen like that… At some point, Catra was positive she’d see something she didn’t like.

But it hadn’t happened yet, and that rush of relief that filled her chest when their eyes connected again nearly bowled her over. In the mere moments that felt like hours, Adora’s expression hadn’t changed, her eyes were still filled with joy, with love, like they were every time. The relief blossomed into something warm and buzzy and, at this point, familiar. Sure, the expansive feeling in her chest, the feeling of overstimulation had taken some getting used to, but she’d grown to enjoy it. And the weird desires that came with it, like this need to stretch or roll on the floor or squeeze something too hard.

And wow, she was beaming like a fucking idiot.

“Hey Adora,” Catra did her best to tame that smile into something more teasing as she moved into the room. Confidence somewhat restored, she sauntered past, purposely bumping into Adora, tail lingering and curling around her wrist a moment. Catra sat down next to Glimmer, satisfied with her girlfriend’s grin and the blush coloring her cheeks. Adora really didn’t have any filter whatsoever, not when it came to her anyway. She smirked a little, absolutely delighted that she could make Adora forget herself.

And just to keep that smile there, Catra gave a quick nod to the other two. See? She was being friendly.

“Crop Top. Sparkles.”

Glimmer snorted, rolling her eyes with an exasperated yet kind of fond grin, “How’d it go with Perfuma?”

Catra frowned shrugging, “Fine, I guess.” Hardly her business even if it hadn’t. But then Bow _and_ Adora looked at her, and that worry started creeping back into Adora’s expression. Dammit.

“It went well, don’t worry about it. Uh. Perfuma said she’ll see us at Scorpia’s,” Catra mumbled, checking to make sure that satisfied Adora. It seemed to; the little wrinkle between her brows vanished. She really hated being so, ugh, vulnerable with people around, particularly if those people weren’t just Adora. But, she could admit, at least to herself, that the pleased smiles the other two sent her way didn’t exactly feel _bad_.

Alright, now that that was over with, “So. Adora, what’s all this?” She gestured to the mess on the table. And damn, Catra would never get tired of how Adora’s eyes light up when she can talk about something she’s confident in. Adora launched into what was probably a re-cap of whatever she’d been telling Bow and Glimmer earlier, going by their supportive, but strained smiles. Catra huffed a little laugh at their ever so mild pain.

Catra was brought back to that lovely, weird, uncomfortable, warm feeling as soon as she looked back at Adora. She just was so enthusiastic and animated, so comfortable and at home in her skin and surroundings. The huge smile on her face as she outlined what would be a certain victory was contagious, Catra felt her own grin grow, absolutely enraptured. She was hardly even listening to the words, just letting Adora’s voice, Adora’s scent, _Adora_ wash over her.

As Adora seemed to shift gears, turning to a new section of her battle plans, Catra was pulled from her thoughts by a giggle to her left. She flicked an ear toward the noise dismissively, she was _busy_. But then a light tap on her shoulder finally had her dragging her gaze away from her girlfriend. At least Glimmer had had the courtesy to alert her before touching her, something she’d gotten much better about over the past months.

And of course, Glimmer had to bother her to tease her. She was grinning wickedly up at her, eyebrows raised. Dammit, Glimmer knew exactly how fucking sappy and moonstruck she could get about Adora, she’d certainly witnessed it enough times, and never missed an opportunity to tease her about it. Even, apparently, when she needed to do it silently. Catra huffed, turning away with a pout. It wasn’t her fault her partner in crime was up on the wardrobe, purring like an engine and making dumb kissy eyes at Adora, glowing pink all the while. Clearly that was the issue, not her control of her own expressions. She was a wall. Unreadable.

But she absolutely could not contain the smile that broke through as her gaze settled on Adora again.

Glimmer began giggling again, only to be cut off by an elbow to the ribs. There was no real bite behind the contact though, just hard enough to startle her. It was hard to be intimidating when she couldn’t fight back this dumb grin.

Finally, after far too many failed attempts, Catra managed to school her expression into something closer to a smirk. Couldn’t get rid of the grin altogether, but at least she could seem cooler about it. She didn’t care what they thought, hell, she’d tease Adora right now, if only to fluster Bow and Glimmer. That’d show ‘em.

_Beep beep beep beep_

“Oh, guys, we should head out,” Tragically, Bow put an end to her plot as he pulled his tablet from his bag. Dammit, she’d get him for that later.

\----

It had taken quite a while, but Catra felt like she finally had gotten used to teleporting. It still wasn’t her favorite, but at least she wasn’t queasy every time. Finding her footing was still an issue, however.

Or at least it would be so long as Adora kept reaching out to steady her, this time with a gentle grip on her shoulder. After a moment, like she was checking to make sure Catra wouldn’t fall without the support, she slid her hand down her arm, twining their fingers. And of course that dopey grin was plastered on her face, and something about it made Catra grin right back.

“Wow, they really fixed this place up,” Bow said, gesturing. It was true, and a little unsettling. Scorpia’s new-old kingdom looked nothing like the Fright Zone Catra had grown up in. Sure, some of the buildings were still there, but most had been replaced by new, more organic looking buildings, or refurbished ones from the old Scorpion kingdom. And absolutely _everything_ was covered in flowers. She-Ra had done that for the most part, though Catra was fairly certain Perfuma may have helped it along. Along the path were flowerbeds, and she was sure she could see the hedges of what had to be an absolutely massive garden. Or somewhere to hold captives, who really knew.

The four of them—no she would **not** refer to them as the “best friend squad,” not even in her thoughts—continued on, doing their best to follow the instructions Scorpia had sent. The woman had changed what building she was living in three times since moving there, and it seemed that map making was definitely not her strong suit. Still, it was their best bet, the layout had changed enough that even Catra wasn’t exactly sure where they were.

At least she got to hold Adora’s hand while they wandered around, lost among the plant covered buildings.

Of course good things always had to come to an end.

Adora had squeezed her hand. Catra, ever the good and attentive girlfriend, had looked up to see what she needed when she was absolutely _betrayed._ She had no warning save the playful grin and glint in Adora’s eyes. Suddenly she was attacked, grabbed, and given the biggest, wettest kiss on the cheek she’d ever encountered. Ever _imagined._

Catra shrieked, yanking her hand away to wipe at her face, only to find Adora had danced a couple feet away, smirking. Ah. Catra narrowed her eyes. A _challenge_ then.

At the change in expression, Adora took off at a sprint, laughing like the manic idiot she was. The other two didn’t even get to question what was happening before Catra took off after that dumbass. Her dumbass. Her dumbass who glanced behind her, even though it slowed her down, to make sure she was following.

Catra could hear the laughter of the rest of the squad—dammit—and the telltale tinkling of Glimmer’s magic. Maybe they’d have better luck finding the place that way. Catra couldn’t care less right then, she had a mission.

A mission she was entirely willing to drag out. She knew she could catch Adora. She was faster and had the advantage with agility. But it was much more fun to keep chasing, staying close enough to hear Adora’s breathy laughs.

Finally, as they rounded a corner, Catra decided to end this little hunt. She pounced, tackling Adora to the ground. Catra winced, hearing the grunt Adora made on impact. That momentary loss of concentration had her flipped onto her back. Adora grinned down at her, panting, utterly disheveled. And utterly open to a counterattack. As quickly as she’d been pinned, she reversed their positions, sitting on top of her victoriously. Adora could have tossed her off, she knew that, but the woman beneath her didn’t seem to want to try.

Catra smirked down at her, panting hard. Okay, she was faster. Just maybe not a _lot_ faster. Adora didn’t make these games easy, never had.

Of course now Adora was looking up at her, still laughing, a mess but so joyful, and she looked beautiful. Catra was caught off guard by the thought, and by the warm rush in her chest. She could feel her own expression softening, could see it reflected in Adora’s face. For just a second, she basked in it.

Then she attacked Adora’s sides, tickling her. She wanted that wonderful, cute, goofy laughter back. And she had to do something, because doing nothing meant staying in that tender moment and what the hell was she supposed to do then?

As Adora was reduced to flailing and giggling, Catra leaned down, burying her face in her neck. This way she could settle herself into something others could see, ground herself with Adora’s scent. After a couple breaths, she stilled her hands, waiting for her blush to die down, for her expression to be something less embarrassing. Of course, Adora had to her arms around her immediately when the tickling stopped, drawing a purr from deep in Catra’s chest. She felt secure and warm and happy and loved, and as weird and new as these feelings were, she fucking craved them to an embarrassing degree.

“I love you, you dork,” Adora murmured against her hair, having turned to press a kiss there. The purring only got louder, embarrassingly so. She felt too full and too warm and too _much_ **,** and if she saw whatever soft, goofy, lovestruck expression was on Adora’s face, she was absolutely certain she would burst. But she couldn’t let an “I love you” go unanswered, not from Adora. Adora deserved more “I love you”s than she could ever give. There wasn’t enough time in the day for the “I love you”s she deserved.

So Catra mumbled, “I love you too, dummy.” There. Something to cut the sweetness, just a bit. Granted, insults didn’t do much when they were spoken in such an adoring tone, but whatever. Mission accomplished, sorta.

Adora tapped the back of Catra’s head lightly, and who was she to deny her anything? She slowly looked up, meeting her girlfriend’s gaze. Immediately she let out a groan. Adora still looked soft and concerned. Why couldn’t she just give her a smirk and tease her so they could move on and get to this stupid party or whatever? She couldn’t handle this much love at once. She was pretty sure she didn’t even deserve it.

“What do you need from me tonight?” Dammit, now she had to be open and vulnerable and she _hated_ that. Sometimes she wished Adora could just read her mind so she didn’t have to say the stupid embarrassing shit in there. Other times she wished Adora couldn’t read her quite so well.

But she asked. And it meant a lot. Adora knew she was still getting used to this whole… friendship thing. She was pretty sure Adora even knew how much she secretly kind of wanted it. How badly she didn’t want to fuck it up. Didn’t know how to _not_ fuck it up because her first instinct when confronted with affection was to push it away one way or another. Hell, despite how annoying they could be, she was actually grateful Bow and Glimmer were so goddamn stubborn and wouldn’t stop trying to be her friend, even when she wasn’t great at reciprocating. Grateful that Perfuma kept coming to help her calm herself. Grateful Entrapta and Scorpia, bless her big, dumb heart, could forgive her after everything. That any of them could.

Catra realized she hadn’t actually responded for a good few seconds when Adora sat up a little under her, a big, warm hand starting to rub circles on her back. Great, she was purring again.

“Right. Uh. Just… stay close?” It was a question, a request. Dammit it was a plea. She hated it. But Adora deserved an answer, and if it kept her close tonight, it would be worth it.

Adora beamed, eyes lit up like she’d been given a gift rather than asked for a favor, “You got it!”

Catra leaned forward and kissed her. It was easier than words, and had the added benefit of keeping both their eyes shut for a moment. A little nip to Adora’s bottom lip had her chasing her mouth as she pulled away. Catra grinned, there, a victory. She got up off her, offering a hand. A hand that stayed in Adora’s as they looked for Scorpia’s home.

\----

Perfuma, Glimmer, Bow, and Entrapta were already there. Greeting everyone Adora lead the way to an incredibly comfortable couch, flopping against the armrest, Catra leaning on her.

“Awww!” Bow gushed, and truth be told, Catra wasn’t sure it was entirely teasing. The boy had earnestness fused with his soul or something. Either way, she flipped him off, though she peaked at him a second later. He didn’t seem particularly hurt. Good.

Scorpia entered the room, balancing a tray between her claws, overflowing with snacks.

“Catra! Adora! Gosh I’m so glad you made it! I heard you got lost. I’m so sorry, I know everything is different, it takes getting used to,” she laughed, “Can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself on the complete opposite side of the Fright Zone—or. Uh. My home. Yeah. Anyway, the complete opposite side than I meant!”

Scorpia was beaming at them, exuding such intense enthusiasm Catra would have been suspicious if it were anyone else. But it was _Scorpia_. Like Bow, she just kinda oozed with genuineness.

Scorpia handed out snacks and settled on the other half of the couch. As Perfuma approached, Adora slipped from her seat, joining Bow and Glimmer on the floor. Of course. Self-sacrificing even to the point of giving up her seat. Whatever, it felt kind of nice to have her leaning against her legs. For a moment. But revenge was needed. Catra swung her legs up, draping them across Scorpia’s and Perfuma’s laps, laughing as Adora fell to her side. The laughs from her seatmates startled her, and for a moment she froze. She should move. She almost did but… no. She could do this. She could do the friend stuff. And at least it was just them, two people who wouldn’t ever tease her; she was pretty sure neither Scorpia nor Perfuma had even a playfully malicious bone in their bodies. Adora reached up, grabbing Catra’s hand and giving it a quick squeeze before returning to the game she was setting up.

Yeah, she could do this.

Netossa and Spinnerella’s arrival kicked the competition into gear. For a while, Catra was content to watch Adora attempt to put her plans into action, but when her third loss in a row to Netossa had her shoulders slumping, well. Clearly Catra needed to step up. She shouldered Adora aside, glaring at Netossa with an incongruously saccharine grin.

“Deal me in.”

Mermista and Sea Hawk showed up much later, only to find everyone standing around Catra and Netossa, cheering them on in their third consecutive arm wrestling tournament. Which was started to settle a tie in the number of UNO games they won. Which had also started as a tiebreaker.

Catra glanced up after a win, and, wow. She was pretty sure she’d never seen Adora look so proud. Or turned on. Huh, she’d save that tidbit for later.

Eventually, everyone settled in to catch up. Catra found herself surprisingly comfortable in the pile of bodies that congregated around the couch. There was no hostility in the air, just friendly chatter and laughing. The more familiar voices like Bow and Glimmer actually felt calming, rather than agitating. Scorpia’s touchy affection felt nice, rather than intrusive. Perfuma’s proud looks don’t quite feel patronizing. And there was Adora, right there below her, head resting against Catra’s side while Catra absently played with her hair. It was one of those rare moments, even rarer when with people other than Melog or Adora, where Catra felt at peace.

\----

Late into the night, people begin trickling out.

“We should head home,” Adora mumbled through a yawn, stretching out her legs with a wince. Catra snorted, nuzzling into her hair.

“Shouldn’t have been sitting on ‘em all night, dummy.”

God. Home. That really was something Catra could get used to, even if Bright Moon often felt so foreign. Adora was there, that was what mattered.

A yawn from Glimmer was all the extra confirmation the group needed. Slowly, they rose, mumbling goodbyes to Scorpia and Perfuma, who had taken advantage of Catra moving to stretch out on the couch.

Catra’s eyebrows raised in surprise, seeing the two of them so… wrapped up in each other. Huh. Well. Good for them. A little, tired spark of happiness lit in her chest. Yeah, she was actually happy for Scorpia. She deserved someone all sunshine and rainbows like Perfuma.

With a soft smile, Catra followed the others out, a hand in Adora’s and another on Glimmer’s shoulder as the tinkling sound started up again.

Back in the halls of Bright Moon, exhaustion finally really settled in. As excited as she’d been to have Adora all to herself for a bit, she found she could hardly keep upright. God, people were _exhausting._

Not Bow though. Still as chipper as he was before they left, he beamed at everyone, “That was fun! See you guys tomorrow.” He waved as he departed, Glimmer mumbling a “goodnight” as well before following.

Adora smiled sleepily at Catra, jerking her head toward her bedroom. Catra had a bedroom, but she rarely slept there. It was too weird sleeping in a room by herself, plus, she didn’t really want to let Adora out of her sight if she didn’t have to.

Settling in to bed was a blur of changing and tantalizing glimpses of bare skin that Catra was absolutely too tired to do anything about. Instead she just snuggled close, tangling their legs, resting her forehead against Adora’s. This would do.

“Love you, Catra.” Adora’s words were slurred and soft, but they light that same expansive feeling in her chest.

“You too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes. Yes. The He-Man meme song.  
> This one didn't really have a uniting motif like the other one, but it's got Catra trying to be a friend and more thoughts on Adora and Catra's intricate rituals to feel like they can touch eachother, either with play fighting or teasing or whatever. Can't be vulnerable, nope. 
> 
> Also I apologize if this feels disjointed, I finished it late at night because I just sorta needed to get my thoughts out and I'm gonna be without computer for a few days so I wanted to post it. So, hope you enjoy.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy! If you're on there, I'm also very active on Tumblr @ahelpfulpeach.


End file.
